Making it up as we go along........

Cold again!

2012-03-26T19:54:00.000-04:00

The weather is continuing to flip from one season to another overnight. We have been keeping up with our hectic life. Joe is taking a computer class now trying to get all his credits together so he has been busy. Last Friday we met some friends at the harbor and went to Cheesecake Facory for dinner and then to the Science Center, then back to CF for dessert. It was lots of fun and the food was yummy! Cammie starts soccer in a couple of weeks so that should be fun. Nothing seems to wear her out but I don't think she has been getting enough sleep but I am not sure how to rectify that problem.
Trying to get some things done in the yard and around the house! We tried fostering two adorable puppies last week but it was too much craziness, our bunch hated them and Cammie kept screaming that they were biting her. Soooo... That was a lot of fun.

2012-03-18T20:56:00.000-04:00

I neglected to mention that last Sunday Leslie brought Kilo over and he got along great with our bunch! We all met Timmy, Steph and Tanner for breakfast at Lsbon. Yum! Then we got some stuff done around the house and the Fishers came over for dinner. We realized we hadn't seen them in far too long. Tuesday I took Cammie to doctor and she still has just a virus so she missed school on Tuesday and swimming and mastics on Thursday. The weather has taken a turn for the nice and yesterday we got some plants so we can do a little at a time. Looks good so far. Have to keep the motivation working!

Cammie and Clyde will be doing the annual Lab Rescue Dogwalk this year on June 2, with Uncle Gary. If you could possibly make a donation, any amount would help, we would REALLY appreciate it.
http://dogwalk2012.dojiggy.com/CAMMIEANDCLYDE

I wanna go on vacation!!!!!!

2012-03-12T20:33:00.000-04:00

As usual it has been a string of unusual events around here. Cammie is continuing with swimming and 'nastics. We are still passing some sort of sickness around. I got to have some one on one lunch time with JLO after my pain management appointment. We met at Red Robin. They had the BEST baked potato soup. It was so nice to just sit for a little bit and chat. I took Cammie to the doctor last week after meeting Leslie and Doug for breakfast at Bob Evans (YUM) and she said it's just a virus. Joe finished his Safety Officer class and is very glad to be done with that! I had to go for an ambulance ride last thursday but so far all is ok. I was having chest pains but the ER ruled out a cardiac reason and blamed it on reflux and anxiety. I followed up with my doctor today and of course she referred me for a cardiac workup just to make sure. I ran a couple of errands and then was almost done getting a pedi when Cammie's school called and said that she was in the office with a fever and kept saying she wasn't feeling well. I picked her up about 15 minutes early and she is acting fine. She still has a cough and runny nose but hasn't had a fever. Got a bunch of odds and ends planned for the rest of the month and trying to schedule some fun family things. I want to go lay on a beach somewhere!

My New IPAD Holder

2012-03-01T21:06:00.000-05:00

Well whatever sickness that was going around I sure did get it. Bleck!!! Cammie finally lost the runny nose and cough and Joe finally got rid of his cough. I finished my avelox yesterday and am finally feeling mostly human again. We had a busy weekend last weekend. We went to a Bull Roast in Canton for The Merson's daughters softball team and that was lots of fun. We haven't hung out with Johnny and Heather in forever. Monica came too and it was awesome to see her. Cindy, who went to school with Joe was there and Brandy and Jimmy and a couple of others too. It was lots of fun even though they made me dance and there really isn't enough alcohol in the world for me to want to do that anymore. Cammie spent the night at Aunt Donna's and then Joe got a call for OT on his kelly day (big ol' YAY) so he got up early and went in and I slept in til 1030 which would have been fine if I wasn't supposed to be at the Adoption Day in Frederick at 1030. YIKES! I think I made it by 1130 and 19 out of 21 dogs got adopted. HUGE YAY!! I went to pick Cammie up after that and then found out that Leslie and Ms Sue went to Cracker Barrel without me!! This past week I've had a little bit of a break because Cammie had a break from swimming. It doesn't start back up til next week, so there was much less rushing around. Alice came out on Wednesday to see Cammie and was going to take us to lunch, sadly we let Cammie pick and we ended up at McDonalds. We did try to pressure her towards Green Turtle but she was dead set on burger fries. Joe is almost done his ISO class which he said has been hard. We have things pretty well planned out for March and then there is a little lull before soccer starts mid April. We are all doing well with changing our eating habits and trying to stick to budget. My goal is to get our grocery bill down to $75 a week. I can't wait til all the fresh produce comes in! We are going to be canning and freezing our butts off!! Not really looking forward to tomorrow, got a lot of cleaning to catch up on. But we did get to enjoy the hot tub tonight! Nice!!

It's all Fairy Tales and Princesses

2012-02-23T19:16:00.000-05:00

Fighting an awful flu so I am farther behind than usual. Cammie has been busy with her activities and she is loving school and really enjoying being with the other kids. Her last swimming class for this session was today and she got a little certificate and ribbon so she was thrilled. She has a week off and then moves up to the next class! She is getting a lot braver in gymnastics and is doing well in that. We are going to try soccer soon so that should be lots of fun. We got our taxes done and sent out so just waiting for that windfall to come in and be spent! Joe has been taking ISO class and doing a lot of research on the solar panels. It looks like we are going to give that a go this year.

So much for being organized

2012-02-13T19:11:00.000-05:00

I feel like every time I get a step ahead I fall back a whole flight. Cammie has been busy with school, gymnastics and swimming. In her last swimming class they were learning how to climb out on the wall and she just hoisted herself right up with no help. Yikes! She loves FaceTime and chatting on that. We had a knock down drag out temper tantrum last week before school. We had gone to swimming and then home for an hour to eat lunch and get ready for school. Well apparently that's not going to work, I am going to try taking her to lunch and maybe the library to spend time but I think as long as we keep moving she will be ok.
Last Thursday we had an eye appointment on kent island so we went to Big Bats after since Jennifer was working, Matt brought the kids up and then later the Brown ladies all showed up. It was lots of fun, none of us wanted to leave.
Friday we dropped our taxes off at chucks and we are hoping to hear soon that we are getting a buttload of money back. While we were there Brian Pennewill stopped by with Aunt Karen so we got to see them for couple minutes.
Sunday we met Tim, Steph and Tanner at Lisbon Vfc for breakfast. YUM! There was a bunch of people there. Then we went home to try to nap before our foray into the city to see Disney on Ice. Good lord, we followed Timmy and Steph and got stuck in traffic by the convention center so by the time we got in and got the tickets the show was starting. Missi, Mike, Morgan and Owen were already in the seats. Cammie dressed as Ariel, Morgan was Cinderella and Tanner was Belle. They were so cute. The show was pretty good, there are some things I would have changed and it was crazy crowded. You couldn't even stand in line for drinks or food. It was a good time though and then we ate at Becks.
Cammie was really good throughout dinner, I think the stone/marble jar is working somewhat. We started that after the big meltdown last week.
Today we had a guy from Aurora Energy come to talk to us about solar panels. He was really good and hopefully will come up with some not horrifying numbers.
Joe has to work on Valentines Day so we had our dinner the other night, shrimp, tuna steaks and lobster tail. YUM!

Yes, Cammie went to Disneyworld again!

2012-02-02T14:21:00.000-05:00

I figured I'd better get on the ball and update all the Cammie fans before they riot. Here goes!!

January 19th the dogs went to the groomers for a spa day and we went to 'nastics and then hit Sams Club to stock up before our membership ran out then we all had appointments with Ms Sue! On the 22nd, Jessica, Debby and Jayden came over to watch the football game with Joe and Kristen joined us also since she was spending the night. We had yummy snacks and Joe made taco salad for dinner. The next morning (23rd) we got up disgustingly early and left for the airport with Bruce Bennett. Our plane took off at 0630. YUCK! But Cammie fell asleep while we were taxi-ing down the runway and slept most of the flight. We landed half an hour early and had to wait about ten minutes for an open gate but other than that the flight was pretty uneventful. We were at the Magic Kingdom by 1030! We spent a long day there but had lots of fun and the weather was wonderful. It stayed wonderful all week, sunny and in the 80's. I did not want to come home!! Tuesday we did Hollywood studios and Wednesday Downtown Disney and then Magic Kingdom. We finally got to see the show on the castle and we watched the fireworks which Cammie loved. Thursday Cammie and I hung around the resort for a while and she played on the playground, we took a walk and had a picnic lunch. Then we went to EPCOT for a little while. Had to get some fish n chips. YUM!! Friday morning we got up and headed for the airport to come home and it was a terrible flight. But we landed half an hour early again and were home by lunch time!

Saturday evening Cammie had a sleep over with Aunt Donna so that Joe and I could go to his shift party at the Phoenix in Ellicott City. That was lots of fun, good company and good food.

Joe has been working very hard on the hall bathroom and Cammie has been helping when she can. She wants a princess bathroom so I better start looking for a paint color and decorations.

Monday the 30th she was back to school and glad to see all of her friends. I got a ton of errands done and saved a bunch on groceries at Weis. I watched Extreme Couponing the night before and got motivated again!! Tuesday Cammie started swimming lessons again and she did really well. Then we picked up Brady for school and I went to Walmart. It was crazy crowded in there and I forgot half the stuff that was on my list. Ugh... Wednesday we had a playdate with Brady at the playground and the Greenspring lady Eva came over to check on the hot water heater and show us some programming but it turned out she needs someone to show her so the installer needs to come back. Eva is so nice but we are so over Greenspring. We will not be using them for our future solar needs. Today Cammie had another swimming lesson and then Gymnastics. So hoping it wears her out!! Last night she fell asleep on the couch a little before 8 and we got some tub time in. Joe cleaned it yesterday and replaced the filters. It was so nice last night!!! Now it's time to get some organizing and cleaning done!!

Pirate Princess

2012-01-18T16:23:00.000-05:00

Life would be lovely if we hadn't all caught the plaugue. We have been passing it around since coming home from the Happiest/Germiest place on earth. Yesterday we all went to the doctors and I think Joe wins the award for the Sickest. I have a sinus infection, he's got a bunch of cooties and Cammie just has a virus. Last week I finally got to see my friend Missi when we went to gymnastics. We had been missing each other so we got to catch up while we watched Cammie and Morgan do their thang. Alice picked Cammie up that afternoon for a sleepover and Joe came home from work early because friday morning I had to have a procedure done at Montgomery General. They were super nice there. I got delayed about 20 minutes because the doctor had to deliver a baby before he could come downstairs but all in all it was an easy experience. We took it easy over the weekend and then Monday we had company, a friend from High School that I had not seen since well... HS Jennifer (Dewey) Robbins and her family came over. It was fun to catch up and her hubby Dan is a lab lover so of course the pups were in heaven since no one every pays any attention to them. Cammie loved playing with Lilly and Harrison and we all had a great visit. I just felt bad because I was feeling bad from the sinus deal so I know I wasn't my usual self but hopefully she will forgive me and we can visit again! Cammie went to school on Tuesday and a bunch of kids were out sick and they sent two home sick. So this crud is unavoidable. I am feeling better since starting the antibiotic. Today Joe had to work and Cammie and I went to my pain management appointment. She loves going to see Ms Anneliese! Got things started for the spinal cord stimulator so I just have to have a MRI and a psych eval (??) before my next appointment. Should be interesting!

Still trying to catch up...

2012-01-11T15:20:00.000-05:00

So far my New Year's resolution to get more organized has been coming in dribs and drabs. I feel like I am starting to finally get my head above water though. I think once we come back from Orlando it will get better. I have accomplished several things on my growing to do list so there's a good start!! We have been kicking butt with the couponing. I am hoping to start a facebook page about sharing coupons, I started one about Disney tips but I am still trying to figure out all the details to get it up and running. I know it should not be as complicated as I am making it out to be!

We went over to Matt and Jennifer's last Thursday and then went to Outback for dinner and it was so yummy. I could eat their bread forever and then I got an oreo waffle dessert that was incredible. Joe had to practically roll me home. Blew off the diet big time that night!! Dirty Banana plus bread plus baked potato soup plus dessert..... All my weaknesses all rolled into one. Friday was gorgeous out and Cammie and I went to the playground and she played for a while and then rode her scooter for a bit. There were some bigger boys playing pretty rough and I think that put her off a bit. Someone also left a dog tied to a tree and all the people who were there when we got there were gone before we left. Joe had a dispatcher call me and they were going to let animal control know. The dog was so sweet, should have just brought him home. We are so in need of a farm so we can start our own rescue ranch!! Saturday we went to an open house at the Reuhls. Their new house is really nice and their neighborhood is very family oriented. Leslie and Josh came to see Cammie on Sunday while they were out riding Dreamer and PawPaw. Cammie was so excited and Leslie took her around a bit on Dreamer. Hopefully she will be able to get some lessons in soon, she misses riding. Leslie has been really busy though. Cammie is back in the swing of things with school, they are working on their letters now and they are getting classroom jobs. She loves the kids in her class and the teachers. Monday I got so much stuff done while she was in school, I couldn't believe it. Tuesday Joe was off and we took Brady to school as well. Went to the Post Office and then we ran a couple of errands and went to lunch at Cobblestone Grill. It was really yummy. Tomorrow is 'nastics and then Friday I have an outpatient procedure at Montgomery General so Cammie is having a sleepover at Aunt Alice's Thursday night since I have to be there at six in the morning. Apparently they did not get the message that I am not a morning person...... Wish me luck!!

Happy 2012!!!!!!!

2012-01-04T18:49:00.000-05:00

Well the new year has started with a bang! New years eve we went to a party at the Sharpes and it was lots of fun. Cammie loved playing with all the kids and she was playing football and wrestling with Brady. We are all slowly recovering from the vile sickness, Joe still has a cough, Cammies is almost gone and I finally feel human again. We are trying to eat healthier and are working on losing some unwanted insulation. Also planning some stuff to do around the house and I am going to enroll Cammie in some more classes when we get back from florida. Have done some good couponing lately so I am hopeful that starting out strong will help us keep going. Cammie went back to school yesterday and took her puppets from the great uncles for show and tell. They had an awesome birthday party. Wyatt's mom brought in cookies and things to decorate them with. Plus they had ice cream! It has been hatefully cold the past few days. On Monday we took Cammie to Bruce and Kate's farm since she had been asking to go for a couple of days. They had twenty baby goats and they were TOO cute!!! Cammie likes the goats and the cats best I think, she also helped the kids spread straw around and then had fun eating cookies with Audrey. Yesterday we went with Donna to her friend Michelle's house to see her lights and decorations. Her house looked gorgeous. She had over ten thousand lights in the trees outside. It was most impressive. I am usually not a fan of antiques but one of her many trees was decorated with her mother in laws jewelry and hankies. One tree was all dried queen Anne's lace and ribbons, and one was all the little Christmas baskets from longaberger, and the one in the kitchen was all cookie cutters. I was so impressed and I can't imagine how long it took her to decorate. Cammie loved it!!!

2011-12-26T19:59:00.000-05:00

I have not yet figured out how to put the pictures on from my new IPAD but I am slowly getting more familiar with it. We had an awesome Christmas this year, the best ever in my opinion. Joe woke Cammie and I up and she was so excited to see all her presents. Mom and Dad and the Great Uncles came over to open gifts and have breakfast with us which was lots of fun. Gary told the funniest story about a lady flying with her cat. We went to the Beadenkopfs after that and ate way too much. Cammie got even more gifts and Andrew made us a wall hanging out of a window frame that is perfect. We had a mini open house that evening and had a great time visiting with the Cellinis, Donna and Bill, Daniel and Kristen, Alice and Mike, Emily and Edd, Mike and Donna and Meaghan, Rick and Nathan. I was sure Cammie would crash when everyone left, she laid in bed and watched the winnie the pooh movie and then wanted to play so we were up til about one. So needless to say I did not do any shopping today. Joe and Cammie went out for a bit and I got some of her stuff put away. Trying to psych myself up to start a diet since I am totally disgusted by the scale numbers. Got lots of plans for the new year so we will be getting very organized and hopefully much healthier!

Merry Christmas to all!

2011-12-24T19:15:00.002-05:00

Cute Christmas Program at School!!

2011-12-21T18:38:00.000-05:00

Monday I made another trip to the post office but went to Eldersburg so it went much smoother! The Woodbine PO is horrible. Cammie entertained the cashier by singing jingle bells for him so he enjoyed that. We went to the library and then I was informed that she had to have burger/fries before school or she would be very upset. I'm sure you can figure out what we did then. After I dropped her off I did some Christmas shopping and now I am officially done except for some gift cards that I need to pick up. Tuesday was the Christmas Program at school and that was really cute. They sang some songs and did a little skit and then had an ice cream social. So sweet. Got some grocery shopping done today and just trying to get the house in order for the big weekend. Also trying to keep the wild woman under control. She loves Christmas lights and she understands about Santa. She still doesn't want to sit on his lap but she definitely wants to be on the nice list!!

Still waiting for Santa

2011-12-18T19:53:00.000-05:00

Business as usual in the frenzy leading up to Christmas. I just can't believe that is almost here. All three of us are finally recovering from some cold/flu/grossness that we probably picked up in Disney or on the plane. Wednesday I felt like death and had a fever so I missed the annual executive board dinner and poor Joe had to go by himself. I felt a little better on Thursday and Cammie went to gymnastics and then we did some running around. I think we have also finally recovered from the great tree fall of '11. The Christmas tree is tied to the wall and has showed no signs of movement since the other night. On Friday I made a run to the post office to ship Lab Rescue calendars and ended up being there over an hour as the computer crashed halfway through. Ugh..... Joe called while we were in the PO and asked for some Mucinex so we took a trip to see him. Cammie loves seeing the boys at the firehouse and she had fun talking to Mr. Boz. After that I apparently went insane because I thought it would be ok to run to Columbia Mall. I just had to go to Disney store and Build a Bear. I parked somewhere near our house I think and had to walk forever. The place was crazy and we were lucky to make it out intact!! Saturday my Mom and Dad picked up Cammie and took her to their house so she could help them decorate their tree and she enjoyed that. We ran some errands (crazy on a saturday) and grabbed a bite at Glory Days. YUM! Now I am just making sure I can fit everything I need to in this next week. I am so dreading a trip to the post office tomorrow. I only have about 30 orders to ship but after friday.... I tried to ship them Saturday but we got to the PO right after it closed. I just want to take this moment to say to our mailman, I think you are the biggest douche. And I'll leave it at that. Today we had a good family day, Donna came over to make sugar cookies and then made us chicken and dumplings for dinner. That's always a way to get on my good side!! Our friend Heather stopped by to drop off a plate of cookies. She's awesome and I love that Cammie calls her Feather. Well enough rambling for now...... Night!!!

Is Santa coming tonight?

2011-12-12T18:02:00.000-05:00

That is the question of the day/week/hour! Cammie understands Christmas this year for sure!! Saturday we met Jennifer, Brooke and Alyssa at the Lyric to see Phineas and Ferb Live. It was SO awesome!! They did a really funny show and I would love to see it again. I hope when it finishes they do it at Disney. It was hysterical. The grownups were laughing just as hard as the kids. I won't bore you with the details of our lovely drive to and from the city. Just one word should cover it... yikes! Sunday Joe got some OT or Mickey Money as we have been calling it! So Cammie and I went with the Beadenkopfs to cut down a tree. Cammie found one and Daniel cut it down and Paul drug it to the truck and then later Daniel brought it in for us. It looks really good. It's been a while since we have had a real tree. Donna and I made chocolate chip cookies all afternoon Sunday and Cammie helped. She especially liked taste testing the chips before we put them in. All together I think we made 4 double batches and they are so yummy. Then everyone came over for chili and left right before Joe got home. Trying to stay on the diet while baking cookies is hard!! They finally turned out the way I like them this year and I believe that it is because of the mixer! Cammie went to school today and I went to Weis and the post office. I save 95 bucks at Weis!! Got a huge cartful of food! Trying to get organized in sending out the Lab Rescue calendars too. So lots going on as usual!! I'm trying to keep up!!

Needing to feel some more magic.....

2011-12-09T18:53:00.000-05:00

Is there an official term for needing a vacation after your vacation? We have been crazy busy since we got back. Cammie went back to school on Tuesday for Blue day. Luckily I called Mollie before I left and we did a quick change from a pink sweatshirt into a blue mickey mouse one and Joe grabbed her blue ribbon from the horse show for show and tell. The rest of the day passed in a flurry of unpacking and balancing the checkbook. Sigh...... Wednesday we took Cammie for her speech evaluation and she did fine with that. The therapist said she is age appropriate and gave us some exercises to do with L words. Sadly she has a true blue Bawl-mer accent. I passed my mammogram, YAY and got my bloodwork done. Been thinking a lot about getting the spinal cord stimulator done. It is supposed to relieve a lot of back pain which would be awesome. Next time I go to pain management I am going to go for it I think. They do a two week trial first which is nice so you can find out if it works or not. Thursday Cammie went back to gymnastics and did well there. She really likes it. We hit Walmart afterwards and picked up some good deals there. In the evening we dropped Cammie off at Donna's for a little while and intended to go to Home Depot in Eldersburg but somehow we ended up eating dinner at Chilis and then going to the Walmart there and found some more deals. In between all the running around we have been getting the house decorated and we have more lights on Osbourne starter kit! I am hoping to stock up on after Christmas sales. We went to the dentist today and Cammie got a full check up and cleaning. She did really well. Our hygenist is super nice too! We <3 you Heather!! There may be the start of a cavity on one of her molars though so we need to keep an eye on that. Just trying to get organized and clean some and get prepared for Christmas. We keep reminding Cammie that Santa is watching her and got an idea today to change the ringtone for the house on my cell phone to a Christmas song and put a picture of Santa as the contact icon, so we have already had one call from him to find out if a certain someone was behaving herself. Trying to get my coupons organized too, as we are both on a diet officially and I want to be thrifty with money and food! Wish us luck!!

Back to reality.........

2011-12-06T21:49:00.000-05:00

We pulled off another awesome Disney vacation thanks to friends and family!! Here's all the news that is fit to print!
November 29th Tuesday
We met the O'Neills, the Uncles and LouLou at BWI for a 7am flight to Orlando. A little valium and a cocktail on the plane plus a smooth ride made for a pleasant flight. Cammie slept for a while too so that was also nice! No turbulence and an easy landing made us very happy. We were met by Tiffany Town Car and we all piled into the van and headed for our grocery stop (a great way to stock up on snacks and drinks and save some big $$$) the driver dropped us and the uncles off at the Boardwalk Villas first and then dropped everyone else off at Coronado Springs. We checked in and my Mom and Dad met us there. We then got Cammie's annual pass (this is her first trip that she had to pay for admission!) Our room was ready so we headed up there to unload our baggage. After that we all headed for Hollywood Studios by boat and into a beautiful warm sunny day!! We met everyone else there and rode the Toy Story Mania ride which is FUN!! We had lunch at the Catering Co. with Brooke and then Cammie and Brooke played on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. We caught a few songs by Mulch, Sweat and Shears and did some dancing in the streets and then roamed around for a bit. The highlight of my trip was meeting Phineas and Ferb and getting my picture with them. It was really funny when we were standing in line because I asked Jenn if my hair looked ok and she informed me that I was meeting cartoon characters and not the lead singer of Creed. I told her that I was only asking because we were getting our picture taken and she needed to keep up because now my band is NICKELBACK! We also met Jake from Neverland Pirates. Tried to get on Toy Story Mania again but the line was crazy, then tried to do Backlot tour but when we got up to the gate Cammie had to pee. This was our first diaper free disney trip so it does take some getting used to and you really need to be proactive with the bathroom stops so that you do not wait in line only to have to step out for a potty run. We watched Voyage of the Little Mermaid which is really good. We really like the puppets in there. We all met up again and got coffees and sodas and we saw SANTA!! A real Santa, Cammie and Brody got to meet him and we reminded them that Santa is always watching them, even on vacation and we actually saw that Santa a few more times and some other ones too which was really helpful when reminding them of the fact that they needed to be good! We stayed at Hollywood Studios until they turned on the Osbourne Lights and we walked through those. That makes the whole trip worth it. One of my favorite parts!! After that we took the boat back to the Boardwalk and ate a late dinner at Big River Grill. They have an awesome beer cheese soup and they offer a DVC discount. We sat outside on the boardwalk and they turned on a heater which made it perfect!! We made it back to the room where Joe fell asleep while Cammie was in the tub and I was shooting water all over the bathroom. Yikes!! The Uncles were out having a good time and we never even heard them come in!
November 30 Wednesday
Woke up, got ready and got some coffee on the BW and hopped a bus to the Magic Kingdom. Got my awesome travel agent friend Elyssa to make dinner reservations for thursday evening for Gary and Michael at the Prime Time Cafe. Breakfast was at Crystal Palace and we picked the perfect time because there was barely anyone in there and we got LOTS of face time with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. Pooh picked Cammie as his partner for a parade and Pooh and Tigger were chasing Cammie and Brody all over the restaurant. Eeyore gave out lots of hugs!! It was so fun! Piglet did some flirting with Uncle Munckle! We all ate far too much but it was delicious. After all that breakfast fun we did some rides. Joe and Cammie got on Aladin's Carpet and we all walked through the Treehouse and rode the Jungle Cruise. Caught the end of the Pirate Tutorial and then some got on Pirates ride. We found the fairy section and met Viddia and Tink. Cammie liked chatting with Viddia but didn't want to meet Tink. I got my picture taken with her and I look like a giant beast next to her! We took the rafts over to Tom Sawyers Island which was fun then Joe and Cammie got on Dumbo finally!!!! They also did the Merry Go Round. We all got on Space Ranger Spin and then watched Mickey's Philharmagic which is Cammie's fave. We headed for Trails End for dinner after that and that was fabulous as usual. It wasn't crowded either and we ate too much (seemed to be the trend) and then we walked around the campground and looked at Christmas decorations. Another fun tradition that we are doing! It got pretty chilly so we boated back to Magic Kingdom and then caught the bus back to the BW.
December 1st Thursday
Got up early and hit Animal Kingdom when it opened at 9am. Headed right for the safari and walked right on it. All of the animals were out and we saw the baby elephant. Too cute!!!! After that we walked through the trail and saw all of the gorillas including the baby there too!!! Very sweet!! We didn't see the meerkats out this time which seemed strange but during the safari we did catch a lot of giraffes walking around. Spent a little time at the Conservation Station. Watched It's Tough to Be a Bug and got on the Dino ride with Cammie. We had lunch at Pizzafari and then Joe, Cammie and I headed back to the room for a nap/shower. Cammie fell asleep on the bus back! Once we were refreshed we headed to EPCOT by boat for dinner at the Garden Grill which was a HUGE disappointment. First they lost our reservation and then it just went downhill from there and I am not a fan of the rotating portion of the meal. Bleck! We did meet Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto so Cammie enjoyed that. After dinner we joined the O'Neills and LouLou, they had dinner there too but we couldn't all sit together, and we headed for our premium seating at the candlelight processional. Michael W Smith was the narrator and that was pretty neat. They had a choir and told the story of Christmas and Jesus in verse and song. Cammie liked the Halleluah Chorus! We had to sprint around the world to make it there so it took a while to recover from that! We stayed for Illuminations and Joe and I had not seen that in a while so that was a treat! Cammie loved it. Oh, the reason we had to sprint to the Candlelight Show was because we snuck in a ride on Soarin'. Cammie really loved that. I think that is now her favorite ride!!
December 2nd Friday
Walked to Dolphin to try to catch bus there and ended up hopping on a Mears shuttle to take us to the Contemporary for Chef Mickey's breakfast. That is the BEST!! We got our Mickey waffle fix again and blintzes and everything else. Basically had to roll us all out of there. It was pretty crowded so we didn't get any special treatment there but it was still totally worth it! Caught the monorail to the Polynesian and walked around there a bit then walked over to the Grand Floridian, just looking at Christmas decorations and enjoying the gorgeous weather! We saw Cinderella's coach at the GFlo which was really cool. Saw the gingerbread house there also and then caught the monorail back to MK. We rented a stroller for Cammie and then got on Space Ranger Spin and the People Mover. Then the kids got pictures taken with Buzz. Got on Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Dumbo and watched Philharmagic again and met Rapunzel. We lunched at Starlight Cafe. Watched the castle get lit then bussed home. Cammie fell asleep on the bus.
December 3rd Saturday
Boat to EPCOT for Soarin', Living with the Land and Nemo. Took the Uncles to the place to try all the different cokes. Saw Pooh and Tigger in UK and Alice in Wonderland and Aurora and Marie the cat. Went back to BW and Joe and Cammie got in the pool which Joe said was freezing. No nap that day so we just hung out at BW and ate at Big River Grill and did a little shopping and played arcade games. Also had Fish n Chips for the first time. YUM!!!
December 4th Sunday

Headed to MK and got pastries on Main Street. Rode the People Mover and watched Philharmagic again, then met up with the Uncles in EPCOT. We got Orange Chicken in China. SO GOOD!! Back to room for nap, then back to EPCOT for Fish n Chips and french pastries for dessert. Did a little shopping and then watched Illuminations again. Back to the room to pack. :o(

December 5th Monday
Got up and finished packing. Did our baggage check with Southwest at the resort and then headed for Downtown Disney. Yet another gorgeous day!! We all met up at T Rex for lunch and then did a little shopping before the van picked us up at 2. Got to the airport and then had an uneventful flight home.
Great vacation!!!!! Already have the next one planned!!

Gone to Disney........

2011-11-28T15:00:00.000-05:00

Thank you Elyssa!! We'll talk to everyone when we get back!

Counting down to Disney!!

2011-11-22T13:17:00.000-05:00

This time next week we will be in Sunny (hopefully) Orlando. Today we are in Rainy Woodbine. Blah!! We have been scarily productive lately! We got some mums planted in the new bed by the driveway, the dogs all got a much needed spa day on Friday, got some shopping done, Christmas shopping is almost complete, got the Thanksgiving Turkey already (31 pounds!!!!), and got lots of cleaning done! As much as I hate to rush the seasons I am kind of anxious to decorate for Christmas for some reason. I think it is because we don't have a lot of Thanksgiving decorations yet. Each year we have been adding to our holiday collection! Yesterday while Cammie was in school Donna and I ran some errands. We went to Yankee Candle to use our buy two get two free candle coupon!! Then we hit Baughers for some Thanksgiving supplies (YUM) and Safeway too. Then I had my best coupon haul yet at CVS. I got 2 6-packs of Pediasure, 4 bags of candy (for Christmas really!!) and 2 tubes of Colgate all for $19.81 and I got a $10 gas card back, so really it was only 9 bucks!!! Go me!!! We have been rocking the couponing lately!

Cammie and I had to pick up Brady for school today and it was so cute, when he got into the car Cammie looked at him and said, "What's new Pussycat?". I laughed so hard!! Then they walked into school under her umbrella holding hands! Too cute!! Well I'm off to get some cleaning done while Her Highness is at school!!

Diva-licious!!

2011-11-19T18:32:00.000-05:00

Dress up is still favorite game to play! Had our first parent teacher conference and we have to take Cammie for a speech evaluation. I have that scheduled for December 7th. We are gearing up for our trip to Disney and doing some serious couponing!! I am getting better at it and have had some pretty good hauls! We are having Thanksgiving here and we are also looking forward to that as well.

Snowbunny

2011-11-10T18:54:00.000-05:00

Cammie had a good couple of days at school. Parent teacher conferences are next week so I am sure we will hear about how spectacular our little prodigy is! I don't know if I am becoming more organized or am just managing to get more stuff done but I am doing it!! I have been in contact with my new best Disney friend! If you need to book a Disney trip she is the woman to do it. That is all that she handles and she is great. Cammie had gymnastics today and did really well. Her and Morgan were the only ones with Ms. Roz so they were loving all the special instruction! Now Cammie is looking at some of our old Disney photo albums and asking why there are no pictures of her. It's so funny. She is very excited for our next trip!! Only 19 days away!!

School picture!!!

2011-11-07T21:06:00.000-05:00

What do you think of our little cutie??? She looks like such a ham in the class picture! She is so funny! For Halloween she was a funky fairy princess and loved it. We went to Donna's and walked around her neighborhood, Cammie wished everyone we passed a Happy Halloween and loved knocking on doors and getting treats. It was lots of fun. They had a little Fall Harvest Celebration at school and she enjoyed that too. In gymnastics Cammie and Morgan got moved from Busy Bees to Tumble Bugs!! So that means that instead of Missi and I chasing them around the gym, we get to sit in viewing section and watch! The girls did really well last week and didn't seem to miss us at all. On Saturday Donna, Cammie and I went to the Craft Fair at the Hoco Fairgrounds and that was nice. I got a couple of things but some of the stuff that I liked was too expensive and some stuff you just want to make yourself. We took some pictures of things that we want to get Andrew to make also. That morning a transporter dropped off Simon a 6 year old black lab (that was around 1045) and he was going to be our foster but before he even arrived he had two appointments set up to see him. The first family came at around 330 and they loved him so they spent some time with him and then ended up taking him home so we had a very brief foster period with him. He was sweet but very stressed out, no wonder though since he had just been dropped off at the kennel by his family the day before and spent the night there. We also had a visit from the Merkels, Sharon, Ken and Becca stopped by on their way home from hiking. It was really great to see them and hang out for a bit. Cammie loved playing with Becca and was very excited that Becca brought some toys to hand me down to her. She calls Becca "Backup" and wanted her to have a sleepover! We haven't really gotten to see them since we moved so that was great! I miss them! On Sunday Alice and Donna came over so that we could make applesauce and my parents came over to play with Cammie. We peeled so many apples.... ugh! We made a ton of applesauce though, it should last the whole winter for sure! Fixed a ziti for everyone for dinner and then was ready to crash for sure. Joe went to work today and Cammie went to school so I had a little bit of free time while she was in school, I went to the library (heaven when I have time to actually look around!!) and then I went to Walmart (hell because it was so crowded). I just had to get some necessities. I am getting on the ball with organizing my coupons and I am going to spend some time on that tomorrow. I got back to Cammie's school a little early and it was actually really nice to just sit under a tree and read for a bit outside. When we got home we stopped by the pigs and fed them some apples which they seemed to enjoy and then we had to stop by the goats (they had gotten out of their yard when we were headed to school so Cammie wanted to make sure that they were all OK) and then when we got the mail Cammie was THRILLED to receive her new Teddy! She hasn't put him down since then. We played with the dogs for a while outside and watered the flowers that are left blooming and she actually crashed early tonight. I am headed for bed myself now!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T16:38:00.000-04:00

I know I've been bad again but I'm going to get better I promise!! I have some ideas I want to share so hopefully that will keep me on top of things! It's been a busy few weeks. We are really getting into the swing of school and Cammie seems to really like it. She had her first field trip to a pumpkin patch and her favorite part was riding the bus!! Joe and I celebrated our 12th anniversary this past week and we had dinner at Chiapperellis with Matt and Jenn to celebrate that and Joe and Matt's birthdays! It was so yummy and so was dessert at Vaccaros afterwards. Cammie is loving gymnastics still, or 'nastics as she called it. She had an Uncle Gary day last week so that we could do some grown up shopping. She had lots of fun with him and he did as well. She also really enjoyed our first snowfall yesterday. She woke up shouting that it was snowing and that winter was finally here!! It snowed all day and she loved going out and playing in the "winter"!!

Picture Day outfit!

2011-10-13T19:46:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday Cammie had a great time at gymnastics and then since it was such a gorgeous day out we decided to go to Summers Farm Adventure in Frederick. It is so much fun and they had a bunch of baby animals there that were so cute. Cammie also liked getting a loud "hee honk" from the donkey. She liked the slides and the mazes and of course the jumping pillow (pics on facebook). Joe and I are in the process of mastering the budget and savings. We've been watching Extreme couponing and trying to figure out a way to make it work for us. Joe ended up working OT on Friday so Cammie and I ran some errands and then stopped by Station 3 to see him for a bit and then we went to Ms Sue's to get a hair cut. Cammie walks in their house like she owns it and starts yelling for Bill!! It was funny and since then she has been wanting to "do hair" which really just consists of brushing mine which actually feels pretty good. She pretends to wash it and braid it too. Saturday Joe had to work so I spent the day cleaning, Cammie uncleaned and then I re cleaned on a vicious cycle. Leslie stopped by on Dreamer and Cammie loved that, especially when Les let her ride around the driveway a bit.
Sunday, The O'Neills came over for dinner and that was lots of fun!! It is so great to hang out with them and we did some planning for Disney!! The trip will be here before we know it! Monday I dropped Cammie off at school and then did an awesome stocking shopping trip at Food Lion, I got an overflowing cart of food for $137 and saved $85!!! They did have a lot of great BOGOF deals but I was still impressed with myself!

Tuesday was yellow day at school for Cammie and she wore her yellow Perry the Platypus shirt and took a toy school bus for show and tell. However when we got to school after she had been excited to see her friends and right when the teacher was saying hi to her, she hid behind me and had the lip out and the face and the tears and was crying that she didn't want to go! And she didn't want me to leave her there. ACK!! Mrs. Woodward is so nice though, she picked her up and got her to help get the play doh out and told me she would call me in ten minutes if she didn't calm down. I waited 15 and got no call so when I went to pick her up she was fine. The teacher said she was fine as soon as she got in the classroom. She did inform me on the way home that I should not have left her while she was crying. Soooo I'm not sure what that was all about. She did get her flu mist on Monday after school and she didn't like that at all, said she would rather have the needle. Next week is field trip to a pumpkin patch and she is going to be so excited to ride on a school bus!!

The rains have come again and the past two days have been miserable. Got a lot of cleaning/organizing done yesterday with a lot of help from Joe! Today we went to 'nastics and Cammie did well, even swinging on the rope which she said she did not like. At least she tried it!

Our Princess

2011-10-06T11:45:00.000-04:00

The days just kind of whiz by! We've been decorating for Halloween and fall already and Cammie loves it!! She has changed her plan to be a pirate princess and now wants to be a funky princess. So we are working on that. Loving the cool weather and we just got a solar hot water system put in so hopefully that will save some $$ and take us off the grid a little.